The Latest: Debate ratings; Taylor Swift’s Instagram endorsement; A $10M gift to Arizona PBS

Sept. 11, 2024

Top stories

‘Last night’s debate earned an overnight rating of 32.8 and a 70 share across eight networks. That’s +28% higher than the Trump-Biden debate earlier this year.’ (Michael Mulvihill) / ‘NBC and other networks stand ready to host a Harris-Trump rematch in October…’ (Brian Stelter) / Fox News renews invitation for Harris, Trump debate (The Hill) / ‘Trump says just now he'd do an NBC debate and he'd do a Fox debate. (Hadas Gold)

ABC’s matter-of-fact moderators built factual guardrails around Trump (New York Times) / Reporter captures off-mic moments at the debate (Wall Street Journal) / Looking back at Tuesday night’s presidential debate, including ABC News’ solid performance (Poynter) / How global media is reacting to the Harris-Trump debate (Semafor)

Taylor Swift used only Instagram to endorse Kamala Harris. There's a reason for that. (Business Insider) / ‘A General Services Administration spox tells NPR that as of 11 a.m. ET today there have been 306,422 visitors to vote.gov referred from Taylor Swifts’ URL she shared on Instagram …’ (Elena Moore)

Arizona PBS receives $10M gift , largest in its history (Current)

‘More than 100 news executives will descend on Capitol Hill to warn lawmakers about the threats AI poses to the industry.’ (Oliver Darvy) / Senate leaders ask FTC to investigate AI content summaries as anti-competitive (TechCrunch) / ESPN’s AI-generated sports recaps are already missing the point (The Verge)

The California Google deal could leave out news startups and the smallest publishers (Nieman Journalism Lab)

Google dominates online ads , says antitrust trial witness, but publishers are feeling ‘stuck’ (The Verge) / News Corp would have lost $9 million in 2017 by ditching Google ads, ex-exec testifies (Reuters)

Forbes union votes ‘no confidence’ on company leaders (Talking Biz News)

Business Insider welcomes Amanda Hoover as senior correspondent covering technology industry (Business Insider) / Liza Pluto joins The Washington Post as director of communications (Washington Post) / The Intercept adds journalist Susan Smith Richardson to board of directors (The Intercept)

ESPN's 'Monday Night Football' 2024 season opener dips to 20.5 million viewers amid Disney-DirecTV carriage dispute (The Wrap)

Bluesky catches up to X with native support for video (TechCrunch)

Looking back on the World Trade Center attacks: Here are 30 newspaper front pages covering 9/11 (Parade) / I was a reporter in Oregon on 9/11. My newsroom was never the same. (Newsweek)

Press freedom

Utah social media restrictions likely violate First Amendment , judge rules (MediaPost)

A journalist secretly under fire: The hidden investigation of Maya Lau by the L.A. Sheriff’s Department (Editor and Publisher)

Vietnam jails journalist for 7 years for ‘propaganda’ (Radio Free Asia)

Remembering 9/11: Advice for covering traumatic events

“Understand that your coverage of a traumatic event will have an impact on your readership, viewers, or listeners. Remember that the tone of your coverage may reflect the tone of the community's reaction to it . Thus, you should establish policies that affect your coverage: For example, consider coverage of public memorial services for the victims, instead of private funerals. And, if you do cover private services, call the funeral home to ensure that you will not intrude.”

-- Excerpt from the Dart Center’s "Tragedies & Journalists" guide

Productivity Tip: Be intentional about breaks during the work day

“Experiment with freeing up more time during your typical work hours. Schedule exercise, rest, and mastery experiences. Research on exercise during lunch breaks, for example, has shown that people come back after the break with even more vigor to finish out their workday. Make intentional choices to choose recovery over work . It’s OK to do something that you find pleasurable for the pure goal of finding joy.”

-- Malissa Clark, associate professor of industrial and organizational psychology at the University of Georgia, excerpt from “A workaholic’s guide to reclaiming your life ” (Harvard Business Review)

Resources

This newsletter is written & edited by the National Press Club Journalism Institute staff: Beth Francesco, Holly Butcher Grant, and Mitch Harle. Send us your questions and suggestions for topics to cover.

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The National Press Club Journalism Institute promotes an engaged global citizenry through an independent and free press, and equips journalists with skills and standards to inform the public in ways that inspire a more representative democracy. As the non-profit affiliate of the National Press Club, the Institute powers journalism in the public interest. The Institute's tax ID number is 52-1750908.